David sings his heart out on this one:

Love the song, don't know why, but just love it! To me, his best.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-10-10 09:39 by BluzDude.

Thanks for that. Beautifully understated opening, then the build-up to the familiar dimensions of the recorded version and then beyond.

Would love to see the Stones take more liberties in their handling of the catalogue...

It's one of the great ones.

My favorite Bowie song. An absolute gem.

"It's just some friends of mine and they're busting down the door"

Incredible song! Bowie with that uncanny knack for throwing complex melodies against soaring vocals. He starts so stark and germanic, it is icy and thin. The White Duke slowly building in intensity after every coda, until he lets loose with the thrilling vibrato, finally freedom is glimpsed. The version on Stage is incredible. His voice on the 78 tour was so @#$%& strong, and he outpaces most singers holding that final note at the end...amazing.

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whitem8
Incredible song! Bowie with that uncanny knack for throwing complex melodies against soaring vocals. He starts so stark and germanic, it is icy and thin. The White Duke slowly building in intensity after every coda, until he lets loose with the thrilling vibrato, finally freedom is glimpsed. The version on Stage is incredible. His voice on the 78 tour was so @#$%& strong, and he outpaces most singers holding that final note at the end...amazing.

Remind me, Mr White - have I ever disagreed with you about anything Bowie related, other than the merits of Reality? The version of Heroes on Stage is indeed terrific - and far better on the revamped version of the album. The only thing is that the coda was edited out, which is a shame. Check out some bootlegs from the Stage tour for the full version. I recommend Dallas, Baton Rouge and the Bremen TV broadcast.

Incredible song anyway.

Next up, how about discussions of Teenage Wildlife (reputed to be a swipe at that moron Gary Numan) and Strangers When We Meet.

Amazing song, and this live version is even more profoundly amazing. Bowie at his absolute peak.

Drew

Nikolai,
What do you mean the coda was edited out? I am confused. I don't have any boots from that tour, other than a film version of Moon of Alabama live from German TV. Very good!
Now Teenage WIldlife is my favorite off Scary Monsters!!!! I love the version from the 1.Outside Tour! AMAZING. Reeves really grabs that lead lick and Carlos Alamor plays amazing funky rhythms alongside. Strangers When We Meet another favorite along with These Architect's Eyes. THRILLING!!!!!!!!!

Love the song when it game out great feeling

__________________________

Bob Fripp added so much to the song too.
One of my favorite parts in the song is when the tambourine comes in.
That video is really a good rendition of the song on stage. Had Bowie already been around the Arcade Fire by then?

palace that is pre Arcade. It is from the Reality Tour...Arcade Fire was after the heart scare the Fashion Awards where he has a black eye, bandages on his hand, and flood pants...he does Wake Up, Life on Mars, and Five Years. That is nice too.

Yeah Fripp and don't forget ENO. Man the eerie keyboard train sound he is making is fantastic. I love on the above film clip it comes in after the band has been playing for a while.

I prefer the Serious Moonlight tour version. By the way, is Steve Earl in that video? Kinda dark in the background.

Amused

I think that particular version was played in the movie "Inglorious Bastards" (A forgettable movie) -Sounded great in the theater.

yep, I've just seen the movie - great IMO - and found that song.

Amused

The story line was great. But that 's the problem ...I was looking for a documentary type flick. I take history seriously. In any event, that movie version of "Cat People" was awesome. Is that the same as above?

I take history seriously as well - my family was strongly affected by WWII, but anyway, enjoying this movie ain't anything bad. yy anyway - there are 2 versions of Cat People at least, one with synthesizers (the one above) and one with SRV's lead guitar (on Let's Dance album). I'm not sure, I think they used the synth version with some heavy remixing and reediting... I'm waiting for DVD release to check

My fave Bowie song too. Has Mick ever performed in a suit & tie? He sure looked good in the pink one on the SNL skit in '78 & the green one at the ER release party in NYC.

Yes that is the version from the movie Cat People. I actually prefer that to the Let's Dance. Darker and more ominous.

Actually, lets see Nikolai if we agree...Lets Dance era is my least fav bowie. Too bright, to many pastels, Stevie was great, and there are great moments, but my least fav. Some notable exceptions, Richocete, Criminal World, Loving the Alien, Don't Look Down, parts of China Girl, prefer the later versions of Let's Dance (the BBC), and I am sure a few others that are good. But not classic Bowie. I prefer the re-team up with Nile Rogers on Black Tie White Noise. Around Buddha he began his steady climb out of his retirement plan scheme and got more into making art again...

This version is pretty cool too.





Drew

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whitem8
Nikolai,
What do you mean the coda was edited out? I am confused. I don't have any boots from that tour, other than a film version of Moon of Alabama live from German TV. Very good!
Now Teenage WIldlife is my favorite off Scary Monsters!!!! I love the version from the 1.Outside Tour! AMAZING. Reeves really grabs that lead lick and Carlos Alamor plays amazing funky rhythms alongside. Strangers When We Meet another favorite along with These Architect's Eyes. THRILLING!!!!!!!!!

If you listen to the boots from the 1978 tour, Heroes (always the second song in the set) has a closing instrumental vamp/coda. Check out the ones I've mentioned. Freely available on ye olde 'net.

I LOVED Teenage Wildlife on the Outside tour (and, like you, it's one of my favourites on Scary Monsters). And Strangers When We Meet is sublime. I used to prefer the faster, harsher Buddha version, but I now rate the Outside version higher - it's wearier and more soulful. "Cold tired fingers, tapping out your memories".

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whitem8
Yes that is the version from the movie Cat People. I actually prefer that to the Let's Dance. Darker and more ominous.

Actually, lets see Nikolai if we agree...Lets Dance era is my least fav bowie. Too bright, to many pastels, Stevie was great, and there are great moments, but my least fav. Some notable exceptions, Richocete, Criminal World, Loving the Alien, Don't Look Down, parts of China Girl, prefer the later versions of Let's Dance (the BBC), and I am sure a few others that are good. But not classic Bowie. I prefer the re-team up with Nile Rogers on Black Tie White Noise. Around Buddha he began his steady climb out of his retirement plan scheme and got more into making art again...

I remember buying Let's Dance the day it came out. At the time - believe it or not - I thought it was Bowie reinventing himself as a Chic vocalist. The album sounds like nothing else in the Bowie canon (courtesy SRV's incredible guitar). No, it's not classic Bowie by any means. It's a calculated attempt at making a big, bright commercial album which, by and large pays off. Listened to on those terms, it's great. Still not sure whether I prefer his version of China Girl or Iggy's. Loved Nile Rodgers's explanation for the oriental guitar intro: "Bowie said "What are you playing? It sounds like it's come straight out of a fortune cookie" I said "The song's called CHINA Girl, right?"".

Unfortunately, it's the album I blame for what followed: Tonight and Never Let Me Down. THOSE are my least favourite, barely played Bowie albums. I think I've listened to Tonight about seven times in the 25 years I've owned it. I've never played it the whole way through on CD. As for Never Let Me Down ... What was Bowie's comment? "I let the others get on with it and went to lunch".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-10-11 09:29 by Nikolai.

That first live version creeps up on yah! Great stuff!!!

well said. Lets Dance, Tonight, and Never Let Me Down are three Bowie albums I never really choose to put on. I haven't really listened to them in years. I agree with you on Lets Dance, I was so excited when it came out. I had just gotten into Bowie around Scary Monsters and he was kind of in a hiatus when my curiosity was so peeked. Then Lets Dance came out and I was excited to see Bowie in concert. And loved it at the time. And it is interesting in his cannon, different, like you say, from anything in his catalogue. BUt it just doesn't move me like is other stuff. I was so excited when the tour was announced. And at that point was really into The Man Who Sold the World, so this was a very different Bowie. So 80's! Funny now. I prefer Iggy's China Girl, but I love the part in Bowie's version when he goes into "I stumbled into town, just like a sacred cow.." That bit Bowie nailed! I will say though, the Glass Spider Tour was abysmal, and really Bowie's most embarrassing moment. The live tour was so 80's synthesizer cheese whizz. But I wnt and ait it up like a good little fanzie. Then Sound and Vision restored my faith that Bowie is an incredible artist. The real deal. With some incredible music.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-10-11 10:42 by whitem8.

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whitem8
well said. Lets Dance, Tonight, and Never Let Me Down are three Bowie albums I never really choose to put on. I haven't really listened to them in years. I agree with you on Lets Dance, I was so excited when it came out. I had just gotten into Bowie around Scary Monsters and he was kind of in a hiatus when my curiosity was so peeked. Then Lets Dance came out and I was excited to see Bowie in concert. And loved it at the time. And it is interesting in his cannon, different, like you say, from anything in his catalogue. BUt it just doesn't move me like is other stuff. I was so excited when the tour was announced. And at that point was really into The Man Who Sold the World, so this was a very different Bowie. So 80's! Funny now. I prefer Iggy's China Girl, but I love the part in Bowie's version when he goes into "I stumbled into town, just like a sacred cow.." That bit Bowie nailed! I will say though, the Glass Spider Tour was abysmal, and really Bowie's most embarrassing moment. The live tour was so 80's synthesizer cheese whizz. But I wnt and ait it up like a good little fanzie. Then Sound and Vision restored my faith that Bowie is an incredible artist. The real deal. With some incredible music.

So, like me, your first exposure to Bowie live was Serious Moonlight? I got into him after seeing him do Heroes on Top of the Pops 1977. Loved the single, but, at the time, as completely baffled by the album. Then a school friend played me Ziggy, Alladin Sane and Diamond Dogs ...

Anyway, Serious Moonlight ... saw it twice: Wembley Arena (which was great) and Milton Keynes (which was ok, but full of the fairweather types who just had Let's Dance and the K Tel compilation - yeah, call me a snob if you will, but I'm sniffy about fairweather, boxticking types who hop on and off bandwagons). It was a weird tour, and, as you say, synthy. I never listen to bootlegs from it at all because it sounds utterly dated. The arrangements are dire. As for the Glass Spider fiasco ... I saw that at Wembley Stadium on a very windy day. The sound was crap, the stage cluttered, the screens were on the blink ... Real shame, because he was already half-way to shedding his Vegas skin, playing stuff like Sons of the Silent Age and All The Madmen (which had the fairweather types fairweathering off to the toilets).

All sorts of mutterings about new material appearing in the next eighteen months. Bowie may be going the Nine Inch Nails route and selling his new music online, via his website. He just has to get out of his existing EMI contract and renegotiate his publishing.

Yeah right on Nikolai. That is fun stuff. We are really on the same wave length for Bowie. Glass Spider, the saving grace was Sons of the Silent Age, but I didn't like Frampton singing on it. That part should have been Bowie, I guess he couldn't hit the high notes on that one:-) And All the Madmen, but all the synth on it ruined it for me... I remember seeing Iggy and Bowie on the Dinah Shore show, I was a little runt then and I was so intrigued and a bit scared...

I saw Glass Spider at the Pontiac Silverdome and it wasn't sold out. Way too big for Bowie. I also saw Serious Moonlight two nights in a row at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. I was on crutches, I had has knee surgery a week before, I was 17 and had tickets for the Police the night after Bowie's second show...so three in a row:-) And I was captivated. I had great seats on the main floor and vividly remember Breaking Glass! One of my favorites, and Sorrow...wow! His voice was great on that tour! I like the documentary Richocete and it shows him in Singapore.

Does anyone know or even like his experimental album "1 Outside"? I don't know much about it but am considering buying it... wonder what it sounds like.

Oh, but I really dig this version of "Hello Spaceboy" from the Reality Tour Berlin 2002, what do you think?:

MacPhisto - not an oblique U2 reference there, per chance?

Anyway, you HAVE to buy Outside. It is, in my opinion, Bowie's Low/Heroes/Lodger/Scary Monsters for the 90s - startlingly original, challenging, experimental music that completely defied characterization or labels upon release. In short, it's a masterpiece. And nothing sounds like it. Even today.

Now, I'm a huge Bowie fan, but Outside is my favourite album of his.

Buy it.

Thanks for your reply, Nikolai! I really wasn't aware of it being such an essential album and I'll definitely buy it, then. Sounds like an album that requires repeated listenings, though (which I actually like with an album if it rewards my repeated listening to it).

You're right about the MacPhisto/U2 reference. My registration here at the IORR message board coincided with my enthusiasm for U2's ZooTV/Zooropa era stuff (I still admire those tours and the concept behind them)